Online Bullying Rampant Among Teens, Survey Finds

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With almost all social-media-using teens on Facebook, it's only
natural that behavior on the network mimics the trials of real
adolescence. Rumors are started, cliques form, bullies emerge,
feelings get hurt. But digital drama doesn’t always stay online,
according a new study of teens' social networking habits.

Twenty-five percent of teens on social media sites have had an
experience that resulted in a face-to-face argument or
confrontation with someone, according to a
study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, the
Family Online Safety Institute and Cable in the Classroom.

Surveying 799 social media users ages 12-17, the study found that
88 percent of them "have seen someone be mean or cruel to another
person on a social network site."

That cruelty manifested itself in several ways, including
bullying via text message, email, instant messaging or phone, and
it often had ramifications beyond the computer, including
physical fights.

Twenty-two percent of the survey said an online experience caused
the end of a friendship; 13 percent said they "felt nervous about
going to school" the day following an online confrontation; and 8
percent got into a physical fight with someone "because of
something that happened on a social network site." The survey was
conducted from April 19 to July 14.

The study, titled "Teens, Kindness and Cruelty on Social Network
Sites," highlighted an important factor that allows cyberbullies
to thrive.

"A majority of teens say their own reaction has been to ignore
mean behavior when they see it on social media," the study's
authors wrote. Ninety percent of teens on social networking sites
said they have ignored instances of online cruelty. Twenty-one
percent admitted to joining in to harass others.

Parents can play a crucial role not only by modeling positive
online behavior for their teens, but also by checking in on their
children's online lives, talking to them about their experiences
online and encouraging them to stay safe and be better "digital
citizens," the authors wrote.

About half of the
parents of social media users (54 percent) said they deploy
parental controls to manage their child's online experience
(including blocking and filtering the child's access). Even more
(77 percent) said they check the websites their kids visit, and
two-thirds have checked to see what information about their child
was available online.

Still, a watchdog parent does not mean a teen can't find trouble
online. "We find that even when parents friend their children on
social network sites, it does not necessarily head off problems
on those sites," the study said.